


The Most Attractive of All His Parents' Friends

by shes_gone



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alley Sex, Anal Sex, Apathy, Boss/Employee Relationship, Cross-Generation Relationship, Double Penetration, Emotional Constipation, HP: Epilogue Compliant, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Oral Sex, Post-Grad Angst, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-06
Updated: 2010-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-18 17:50:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/563749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shes_gone/pseuds/shes_gone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is Teddy. He's a little worried about his future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Most Attractive of All His Parents' Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [comicsbycate](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=comicsbycate).



> Written as a gift for [](http://comicsbycate.livejournal.com/profile)[**comicsbycate**](http://comicsbycate.livejournal.com/) in the 2009 [](http://hp-yule-balls.livejournal.com/profile)[**hp_yule_balls**](http://hp-yule-balls.livejournal.com/) exchange. Virtually everything about this fic is against type for me, and I loved writing it! Branching out, it is so scary and yet feels so gooooood. Endless thanks to [](http://tailoredshirt.livejournal.com/profile)[**tailoredshirt**](http://tailoredshirt.livejournal.com/) for the beta and ass-kicking and modly amazingness, and to [](http://shocolate.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://shocolate.livejournal.com/)**shocolate** for the beta and Britpick. ♥!

Teddy drains the last few sips of his beer and slouches back against the sofa cushions. It's mercifully dark and quiet in the lounge, finally. The fire's nearly burnt itself out, and the dull roar in the kitchen has shrunk to a steady murmur as various branches of the family have taken their turns stepping through the Floo.

Teddy's wanted to leave for hours already, but he promised his grandmother he'd stay to the very end in case there's any more clean up to help with, and she'll know if he doesn't. "You love this, remember?" he mutters to himself. "Christmas is _fun_."

"Hey," Harry says, from the kitchen doorway, and Teddy gives a start. "Mind if I sit?"

Teddy shrugs and is really glad it's dark, because Harry obviously heard him. "Don't need my permission. S'not my house."

Harry raises an eyebrow and sits down in a chair next to the sofa. "They mean well, you know," he says.

Teddy nods. He knows. _We just want you to be happy_. _We just want what's best. We're just worried about you,_ he knows, he knows, he _knows_. He looks at Harry warily, steadying himself for the lecture he's managed to avoid all night.

"Relax, I'm not gonna lecture you," Harry says.

"Didn't think you were," Teddy says, unconvincingly.

Harry smiles. "Could've fooled me, with the way you've been avoiding me all night."

"I haven't—"

"It's all right. I'd be avoiding me, too. The last thing I want to do is pressure you into anything, honestly, but... you do realise that your grandmother is ready to wring your neck?"

Teddy sighs and lets his head fall back against the sofa. "I know." He can't really blame her.

"You've got options, Teddy. Lots of them."

"I know."

"Are you sure you're not interested in joining the Department anymore?"

Teddy closes his eyes and tries not to sigh with annoyance. Surely Harry doesn’t want to have this conversation _again_. "I'm sure," Teddy says. He hasn't wanted to be an Auror since he was about twelve, and outgrew wanting to be just. like. Harry. "You know I haven't got the marks for it."

"That doesn't mean you can't apply. It wouldn't be the first time we'd considered – or accepted – an applicant without all the proper N.E.W.T.s."

Teddy just looks at him.

"Don't look at me like that, it's true! Ron and I didn't have a single one between us."

"Really?" Teddy says, with false surprise. "Oh, well, that's brilliant. Just gimme half an hour to go _save the fucking world_ , and it'll all be sorted."

Harry rolls his eyes. "Look, I just want to help. You don't have to be an Auror, of course, but have you anything else in mind? I can't really pull strings anywhere else, but I could certainly put in a good word for you."

"Thanks," Teddy mutters, but doesn't offer up any ideas.

"It's been six months since you left school, Teddy. You need to start thinking about doing _something_."

"And _you_ need to leave off lecturing this poor young man," comes Arthur Weasley's kind voice, as he shuffles into the lounge. "It's Christmas, for Merlin's sake."

Teddy can't help a grin. "Thanks, Arthur," he says. "I'm afraid he's right, though. There's a permanent imprint of my bum on my grandmother's sofa, and she's nearly ready to chuck me out."

"Oh _pish_ ," Arthur says, settling himself in a seat next to Harry. "Andromeda's fine. Anytime she starts in on you, you just send her over here for some tea and a spot of gossip with Molly – she'll forget all about it."

"Thanks, I'll remember that," Teddy says, smiling.

"If you are looking for ideas, though," Arthur continues, and Teddy raises his eyebrows. "I've got one word for you. Just one word."

"Oh?"

"Are you listening?"

"Yes, I am."

"Plastics."

Teddy tilts his head to the side, and Harry's grinning. "Exactly how do you mean?"

"I have no idea, but the Muggles _love_ them."

"That is terrible advice," says Ron, as he enters the lounge. "Don't go quoting Muggle films you don't understand, Dad, it'll only get you into trouble. Believe me, I learnt that one that hard way." Harry barks a hearty laugh, and Ron smirks at him.

Teddy raises his eyebrows and looks to Arthur, who just shakes his head and smiles back at him. "Thought it sounded pretty good," Arthur says.

"Don't listen to either of these buffoons, Teddy," Ron says. "This one," he gestures to Harry, "will have you signed up for Auror Training before you know what's what, and _this_ one," he gestures to Arthur, "will have you playing with Muggle crap so old that even the Muggles don't know what it is anymore."

"Oh _please_ ," Harry and Arthur say at the same time.

"Granddad, there you are!" a young woman's voice comes from the kitchen doorway, and even if Teddy didn't recognise it, he'd recognise the answering pull from his groin. Sixteen, tall like her father, blonde like her mother, and emphatically one-eighth Veela, Victoire appears.

"I'm about to leave," she says to Arthur and the room in general, "but I wanted to say goodbye." She crosses the room to give her grandfather a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and similar goodbyes to her two uncles. Teddy tries not to notice way the slinky fabric of her dress sways against her knees as she goes up on her toes to hug Ron.

She stops in front of Teddy on her way back out. "It's _so_ nice to see you, Teddy. School just isn't the same without you," she says. "We all miss you."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure," Teddy says.

"We _do_ ," she chides. "You come up in conversation in the dorm at _least_ twice a week."

Teddy doesn't quite believe her, but good _lord_ , that's a thought he doesn't mind dwelling on.

"I don't suppose you'd like to come up for a visit?" she asks. "We'd all love it. Hogsmeade in February?"

"Sounds brilliant," Teddy manages, after a moment. "I'll keep it in mind." Victoire smiles bewitchingly, and leaves. Teddy tries not to watch.

When he turns back to the room, he finds three very amused men looking at him. Harry's actually biting his lip against a smile. Teddy feels his face flush deep red, and he hopes that his hair hasn't gone bright blue on its own again.

"Well," Ron says, after clearing his throat. "Harry. I was sent in here to tell you that your wife has gone home without you, and that you're to join her as soon as possible."

"Oh," Harry says, checking his watch. "It is getting late, isn't it? Arthur, thank you for another lovely Christmas," he says, offering a handshake that quickly turns into a hug. He offers the same to Teddy, who looks at him sheepishly. "I'm really not trying to push," Harry says, "but please do let me know if I can help with anything."

"Thanks," Teddy says, and he watches Harry and Ron leave together. They're not Flooing, he knows, but striding down to the front gate in order to Apparate and avoid announcing their destinations – or, rather, destination – to all within earshot. It only recently occurred to Teddy that that destination might hold more than just a friendly pint without the entire family around to witness it, but he hasn't asked.

"Well, Teddy," Arthur says, levering himself up and out of his seat, "I'm afraid it's well past my bedtime. Can I get you anything, before taking my leave?"

Teddy smiles. "No, thank you. I'm quite happy."

"All right. It was lovely to see you, as always, my boy. You won't be a stranger, now that the holidays are over, will you? Oh, good!" he says, before Teddy can answer. "Here's someone to keep you company after the old man goes to bed."

Teddy turns to see Bill enter the room with a glass of Firewhiskey and an easy smile. "I can do that, Dad," he says.

"Whatever you do," Arthur says, patting Bill on the shoulder, "don't give him anymore advice about his future."

Teddy feels a flutter in his stomach as Bill chuckles and strides past him to take the seat his father just left at the far end of the sofa. An uncomfortable tension settles over the room as Arthur leaves, but Teddy breathes through his nose and tells himself he's imagining it.

"I thought your family was going home?" Teddy asks.

"My kids are old enough to tuck themselves in," Bill answers, with a small shrug. "Fleur and I are staying here tonight."

"Oh," Teddy says, and tries to look like he isn't watching as Bill takes a sip of his Firewhiskey.

Bill stares into his drink for a moment, then looks up at Teddy. "So," he says lightly, "your future, eh? Bet you got a lot of nagging and terrible advice tonight?"

Teddy chuckles miserably. "You know your family well."

Bill smiles. "They mean well."

"So I'm told."

"My secretary's retiring," Bill says, abruptly.

"Oh?"

"She was meant to stay until March, but her first grandchild was just born, and now her daughter wants her to come live with them, so she's moved her last day up to next w _eek_. We haven't even started the hiring process, so I'm in a bit of a bind." He looks at Teddy. "It's not very glamorous work, I'm afraid, and it wouldn't be permanent, at least for now, but it would put a bit of cash in your pocket. Get you out of the house. Maybe even shut some of this lot up, for a while."

Teddy raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh," he says. "Um."

"No pressure," Bill says. "And you don't have to answer me right now. Think about it, and lemme know in a couple of days if you're interested."

"Thanks," Teddy says. "I will."

Bill nods and fiddles with his Firewhiskey. Teddy isn't sure if there's going to be more, if Bill's going to launch into his own version of the What Do You Want To Do With Your Life speech, and he considers excusing himself in order to avoid it. It doesn't come, though, and Bill's got this funny look on his face, like he's not entirely there, like he's thinking about something else, and it occurs to Teddy that Bill's a bit drunk.

One of the long-burning logs in the fireplace pops, its burnt-white exterior breaking apart and releasing a shower of glowing embers onto the ash beneath it. The low red light plays on Bill's face, highlighting the scars that have fascinated Teddy his entire life, or at least since he was old enough to understand what they were, and who gave them to him.

"You look good, by the way," Bill says, and it sounds like it's slipped out, like he didn't quite mean to say it. Teddy blinks at him as his face heats. "All grown up, I mean," Bill clarifies. Teddy frowns and wills his hair bright blue in protest, which earns him a smirk.

"Bill?" comes a woman's voice. Bill clears his throat and shifts in his seat like he's been caught at something, and sets his Firewhiskey on the coffee table. Fleur's standing in the doorway, blinking tiredly. "'ello, Teddy," she says, and it's embarrassing, the way he feels it in his groin. She's a grownup, for fuck's sake, like _forty_ or something.

"Hi," he says, and looks at the floor.

"Coming to bed, Bill?" she asks.

"Yes," Bill answers. "Yes, of course."

Teddy offers an awkward smile as they leave, then sits alone in the dark for several minutes, staring at Bill's forgotten Firewhiskey. He picks it up and downs the last few burning sips before slipping silently out the front door to Apparate home, the December air cool and welcome against his flushed skin.

+++

  
When Teddy was a child, Bill was his favourite. He's never told that to anyone (especially Harry) and he never will, but Bill was the one who told all his favourite stories. They all had stories, of course, that Teddy loved to hear. Harry had the best ones about his father, even if half of them were second-hand, and Charlie had the best ones about his mother, from when they were at school together. Charlie confessed to Teddy once that he'd wanted her to be his girlfriend, which had made Teddy laugh and laugh (and wonder if his mother hadn't been part dragon).

Bill, though, had all the best stores about Teddy's mum and dad _together_. He and Fleur had got married around the same time that they had, and they'd all four been good friends after that. Sometimes, Teddy liked to imagine that his parents would have been just like Bill and Fleur, if they'd lived. That they'd laugh the same way, play with their children the same way, and look at each other the same way, right down to the bit of wolf Teddy could sometimes see in Bill's eyes.

Bill was the only reason that Teddy believed the stories about his father. For all that he was told, again and again, what a gentle, kind-hearted man his father had been, he couldn't quite accept it as true. There was nothing gentle or kind-hearted about the werewolves in his friends' storybooks, the ones that Harry and his grandmother worked so hard to keep away from him.

But then they had family dinner at the Burrow near the full moon, and Bill's eyes were wild and skittish. Everyone gave him a wider berth than usual, especially the various house pets, and Teddy stared in barely-contained horror as Bill devoured a blood-red steak and then, mid-chew, caught Teddy's eye and paused to flash him a smile. A big, goofy grin that reached right inside Teddy's chest and blossomed, making him laugh.

It wasn't the same, of course. Bill wasn’t _actually_ a werewolf. But if he could be a little bit like one, and still be a warm, wonderful man who loved his family—who loved Teddy—then it didn't seem so farfetched to believe that his father might have been the same way.

Teddy'd always been drawn to Bill, and Bill had never seemed to mind. He was someone Teddy could talk to whenever he wanted, which was really nice, especially as he got older. Harry was always great to talk to, of course, and he understood a lot of stuff that other people didn't, but sometimes Teddy needed someone a little bit cooler to ask about things. Harry certainly tried to be cool, and sometimes he actually was (he could fly better than most people could breathe, for example), but Teddy learnt pretty quickly that Harry was really lucky that Ginny'd been in love with him since forever, because Harry? Was complete rubbish at girls. So having someone like Bill around, who was not only happy to give advice but who also actually had good advice to give, was pretty brilliant.

But then something changed. Teddy still can't say exactly when it happened, but he first noticed it the Christmas he was fourteen. Bill suddenly just... didn't seem to like him anymore.

They never saw each other outside of the family get-togethers, and when Teddy did see him, Bill was distracted and distant. He didn't want to talk or hang out, and didn't even seem to like being in the same room. He was very busy, Teddy knew, with his job at the bank and his own three growing children, but none of that was new.

What _was_ new was Teddy's inability to stop staring at Bill's wife and, starting about a year later, his daughter. Their Veela charms were suddenly inescapable, to Teddy's complete humiliation. He tried to stop. He tried not to care when Fleur or Victoire walked by because, as beautiful as they were, it wasn't worth it, if it made Bill mad at him. He even checked out a book about Veelas from the library at school, sixth year, to see if he could find a spell to shield himself from them.

He didn't find one.

He thought about taking Bill aside to try to explain, to apologise, but he never did summon the courage to try. It was just too humiliating. Bill pulled further and further away from him, and Teddy tried not to feel too hurt, because he couldn't really blame him.

So when, at Christmas, Bill offers him a job that he doesn't really want, it only takes Teddy about fifteen minutes to admit to himself that there's no way he's going to turn him down. He misses Bill entirely too much for that.

+++

  
Teddy's first few days at Gringotts are unremarkable.

He spends them sitting next to Bill's retiring secretary, Maisie, learning the ropes, and it's all just as unglamorous as Bill warned him it would be. The goblins are a grumpy bunch, and won't process any paperwork that isn't exactly, perfectly correct, so Teddy spends a lot of time redoing work that he thought he'd finished.

He doesn't know what to expect from Bill, how it's going to be sitting just outside his office all day, and he does his best not to expect much. He tries not to look up _every_ time Bill walks by, but if he does, it's just because that's his job. To know when Bill needs something.

Bill smiles at him, a bit formally, and is kind with his instructions. Sometimes, when Maisie's not looking, his smiles are warmer, even bordering on grins, maybe.

+++

  
In the new year, Maisie retires. Teddy mans the desk alone, and that's when things change.

"Morning, Teddy," Bill says with a grin, tapping his knuckles on his desk as he passes.

"Good morning," Teddy replies, eyebrows raised. He blinks at Bill's back as he goes into his office, and finds himself smiling as he sorts through the paperwork for Bill's morning appointments.

When he returns from his nine o'clock, Bill's got two coffees from the shop across the street. He stops in front of Teddy and holds them both up.

"Wasn't sure how you take your coffee, so this one's black and this one's milk and two sugars. I like it both ways, so you choose."

Teddy blinks at him. "Aren't I supposed to be the one getting you coffee?"

"Eh," Bill says, shrugging his shoulders. "I like things informal."

Teddy grins. "Milk and sugar, then, please," he says, playing it safe. He doesn't actually like coffee all that much, but he's too delighted to say so.

+++

  
"Psst."

Teddy looks up as he's returning to his desk, and Bill's sticking his head out of his office conspiratorially.

"Just come back from the loo?"

"Um. Yes?" Teddy answers.

"Was the door to the conference room still closed?"

"No, open. Looks like the meeting's over."

"Brilliant. You eat yet?"

"Um. No?"

"Great, come with me. They always bring in way too much food for the lunch meetings with the foreign investors. If we get there before the house elves do, we can pinch a free lunch," Bill explains in a rush, and Teddy scrambles to keep up with him as he takes off down the corridor.

Ten minutes later, they're hiding in Bill's office, and Teddy's throwing sideways glances at him as they eat, trying to figure out what's brought about this sudden change.

When Bill offered him the job, Teddy assumed it was just out of pity, but now that he's being so friendly, Teddy can't help but wonder if there's something more behind it. If Bill's forgiven him, and maybe even wants to be friends again.

"You look like you're thinking very hard about something," Bill says, breaking into his thoughts. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," Teddy says, after swallowing a suddenly too-large bite. "I was just thinking that… working here is a lot more fun than I expected it would be."

Bill grins. "Even the worst job can be pretty brilliant, if you've got the right co-workers," he says.

"Guess so." Teddy chuckles and looks down at his plate, his cheeks warm.

"Say," Bill says, elbowing him, "d'you have plans for tomorrow night?"

"No," Teddy says, blinking up at him. "Why?"

"Because I haven't invited you to dinner yet."

Teddy frowns, because he can't remember a time when they had a big family dinner during the school term. But then it occurs to him, for the very first time, that perhaps the grownups occasionally congregate on their own. Without the children.

He grins and accepts Bill's invitation.

+++

  
When Teddy Apparates onto the front path of Shell Cottage of Tuesday night, he's surprised at how quiet it is. He's nearly half an hour late; the family get-togethers can usually be heard from outside by now. He knocks and then tries the door, which is unlocked.

"Hello?" he calls, stepping inside. Fleur appears from the kitchen as Teddy removes his cloak and boots.

"Zere you are," she says with a smile.

"Am I the first one here?" he asks, and he doesn't want to look right at her, so he focuses on hanging his cloak on one of the pegs by the front door.

"Ze first one?" she asks. "'ow do you mean? 'ave you invited someone else?"

Teddy blinks at her. "I—um. Oh. Am I the only one coming tonight?"

"Why, yes," Fleur says, smiling.

Teddy feels his face flush.

"I 'ope zat is all right?" Fleur asks. "Bill and I will try to keep you entertained."

"No, I—yes, of course," Teddy stammers. "I—sorry. I just didn't realise."

"Didn't realise what?" Bill asks, appearing behind his wife with a smile. Teddy's heart gives a strange double beat at the sight of the two of them, framed in the doorway.

"Why did you not tell 'im zat 'e is our guest of honour tonight, Bill?" Fleur asks.

"Didn't I?" Bill says, looking at Teddy with raised eyebrows. "Sorry, mate. Thought it'd be nice, just the three of us. Hope you're not too disappointed."

"No, I—not at all," Teddy says. "I just thought—I mean, I'm not... in trouble, or something, am I?"

Fleur clucks her tongue and Bill laughs. "Of course not!"

"OK, good," Teddy says. "For a second there, I thought I was about to be sacked, really politely." Bill laughs again, and Fleur shakes her head and ushers Teddy into the dining room.

The evening ends up being a lot of fun. The food is delicious, and the wine is flowing, and they're all in higher spirits than Teddy can remember them being in for a long time.

"So, be completely honest," Bill says. "How d'you like working at the bank, so far? Everyone being nice to you?"

"Fine, yeah," Teddy says. "Dunno that the goblins are really _nice_ , per se, but they're certainly… tolerant."

Bill laughs. "You're getting off easily. I warned them that they'd better treat you well."

"What!" Teddy exclaims, indignant. "You think I can't handle them? I appreciate you giving me this job and all, old man, but I don't actually need you to hold my hand through all of it."

"Ho- _ho_ ," Bill says. "That's how it is, is it? Well, see if I help you when there's some clerical error that the goblins are all too happy to blame on the new secretary."

"Oh, Bill, please," Fleur says. "Zat's quite enough talk about ze bloody _bank_. Let's talk about something interesting, for a change. Teddy," she says, looking at him emphatically, "who do you see zeese days? Are many of your friends from school in London?"

"Um, yeah," Teddy says. "A few of them, actually, got jobs at the Ministry. They're sharing a flat together, and I'm pretty familiar with their couch by now. Haven't been able to go out much, though, with not working and everything." He glances at Bill. "Hopefully that'll change, once my paycheques start coming."

"And is there anyone special?" Bill asks, refilling Teddy's wineglass. "Here, or... perhaps someone still at Hogwarts?"

Teddy blinks, and feels his face heat. "Um," he says. He remembers Victoire's invitation, and wonders if she mentioned it to her parents, if they made any assumptions. "Nothing particularly serious, right now," he hedges.

Bill smiles. "Do you know anything about a bloke called Evan Glover, in Ravenclaw? Seventh year, now, I believe?"

Teddy frowns. "Not a lot," he says. "Um, Quidditch player. He and my mate Luke were on their house team together for a few years, he seemed to like him all right."

Bill nods.

"Why?" Teddy asks.

"Vicky's latest conquest," Bill says.

"Bill, honestly," Fleur chides. "'Conquest?'"

"What?" Bill says, shrugging. "I can't help that she's her mother's daughter, can I?" He arches an eyebrow at her, and there's a heat in his gaze that Teddy can't look at.

"Oh, shut your mouth," Fleur says, in a tone suggesting she wants him to do exactly the opposite.

Teddy swallows and stares at his plate. Vicky's got some other conquest, apparently, and Bill and Fleur are making eyes at each other across the table, and Teddy's drunk.

"All right there, Teddy?" Bill says, after a moment.

Teddy looks up, and he must be even drunker than he thought he was, because Fleur is the Veela here, but Bill's expression is the one sending sparks into Teddy's stomach. He blinks and drags in a surprised breath. "Yeah," he manages, "fine."

Bill smirks. "It's funny how, even with your hair bright pink like that, you look just like your father when you're scandalised."

Teddy reflexively brings a hand to his hair, which is definitely _not_ supposed to be pink right now, shit.

And then, "Wait, what?" Teddy says, frowning. "Scandalised? I'm not—why should I be—what?"

Bill just looks at him, his smirk growing into a very pleased smile, and Teddy has to look away.

"Bill," Fleur says, warning clear in her voice. Teddy stares at his plate and sees Bill, in his peripheral vision, set down his wine. A thick moment passes, before Bill clears his throat.

"I have had a bit too much to drink, haven't I?" he announces. "Excuse me, I need to go to the loo." His chair scrapes against the wood floor, and Teddy glances up at him as he leaves the room.

Fleur stands after a moment and begins tidying the dishes, sending them through the open door to the kitchen. "Would you like to come sit in ze lounge?" she asks, her voice carefully bright.

Teddy blinks up her. "Sure," he says. "That'd be lovely," and maybe it even would, but Teddy doesn't move. He _can't_ move, he's got an inexplicable erection that the table is currently doing an excellent job of hiding.

Fleur doesn't question him. "Good," she says, and smiles. She steps out into the lounge, shutting the door softly behind her.

Teddy stares at his half-full wine goblet and tries to calm down. Bill must be finished in the loo, because Teddy can hear both him and Fleur in the lounge, speaking in quick, low voices. He can't understand them, but Fleur is clearly chastising Bill.

Teddy suddenly really needs to leave. He gets up from the table, erection be damned, and moves quickly in the hopes that they won't notice it. He shoots into the lounge and past them.

"I'm sorry," he says, hastily making for his cloak and boots. "I'm afraid I'm actually very tired. I, um—I'm not used to getting up so early for work, yet. Thank you for a lovely evening, the delicious food. Goodbye."

Bill and Fleur just watch him as he babbles and dresses for the outdoors, and neither of them look surprised. If they say anything to him as he lets himself out the front door and Apparates away, he doesn't hear it.

+++

  
Teddy wakes up the next morning feeling like a complete idiot. His head aches, and in the harsh light of day, his behaviour last night seems ridiculous. Bill and Fleur were nothing but welcoming and friendly, and Teddy shat all over their hospitality by imagining some… something. He still doesn't really understand what spooked him.

He gathers his pride and goes to work, and if he can't quite look at Bill all day, neither of them says anything about it. Bill brings him coffee again, and Teddy tries to smile apologetically.

A few days pass, and Bill's a bit less jovial with him. They chat, but only about Quidditch or the like, and Bill points out another form that Teddy's been filling out incorrectly. Teddy fixes it and wonders if he's fucked everything up again, if Bill was trying to give him a second chance, and he failed.

Late in the afternoon on Thursday, Teddy looks up from the pile of post he's sorting to find Bill standing in front of his desk, watching him. "Hi," Teddy says, awkwardly, after a moment. "Is there—am I sorting these wrong?"

"What are you doing after work?"

"Sorry? I—um. Nothing."

"Have a pint with me?"

"What?"

"Fleur's out tonight. Some event in town with her charity group, planning a fundraiser, I think, so I'm on my own, and. D'you wanna have a pint with me?"

He's not entirely sure he does, but he goes anyway. They've each had three, and ordered dinner, by the time Bill's looking at Teddy quite earnestly.

"I hope we didn't make you too uncomfortable the other night," he says.

"Sorry?"

"You left in quite a hurry."

Teddy swallows and shifts in his seat. "Yeah, sorry. I'm still adjusting to the new schedule, and sometimes the evenings are a bit—"

"I'm sorry we're not close anymore, Teddy," Bill interrupts.

Teddy comes up short, and falls into a stunned silence.

"I've always felt a connection to you, you know that. When you were a baby, it was because of my friendship with your father, and then as you grew older, well," he ducks his head to catch Teddy's eye, "we forged our own connection, didn't we?"

Teddy nods a bit helplessly, and isn't sure why he can't really breathe.

"And then, you grew up, and I had to pull away from you. I hated to do it, but I had to. I couldn't be that close to you, while you were still so young, and yet so..." He trails off, and Teddy stares at him. "I want to be close to you again, Teddy. Fleur and I both do. We'd like for you to come back to the house, and have dinner with us again," Bill says. "And… more, if you'd like. Fleur was nervous about me asking the other night, but we talked about it, and so long as I don't spring it on you like that, she wants it, too."

Teddy frowns.

Bill leans forward, across the table. "Would you like that?" he asks, and his eyes are trained on Teddy. "Would you like to come back, and—"

Suddenly Teddy understands. He didn't _not_ understand before, but suddenly it clicks, and he _understands_ , and, "Oh God. Oh, I—"

"Don't be nervous."

"I need to go."

"Wait, I let me finish first."

"I—"

"Teddy, Fleur and I find you very attractive, and—"

"Oh, my Christ."

"—and if you feel the same way, I want you to know that, well. We would like that very much."

Teddy stares at him. He's completely serious, looking Teddy dead in the eye, and Teddy isn't sure if he wants to throw up or start rutting against the table, as his cock strains up against the inside of his trousers. "Oh."

"Do you understand what I—"

"I need to go."

"Teddy, do you understand what I just said?"

"Yes! Yes. I need to go," he manages, in a desperate whimper, and flees the pub.

+++

  
He doesn't want to go to work the next morning, but somehow he ends up there anyway.

He stares intently at whatever piece of paper he's got in front of him whenever Bill walks by, and his cock is hard underneath his desk all day. He keeps telling himself that it's Friday, and if he can just get through it, he'll have two mercifully Bill-free days as a reward.

He gives up at half one and escapes to the loo, where he closes himself inside a stall and wraps his fingers around his aching cock.

A million images of Bill, of Fleur, and of the two together, flash through his mind in the ninety seconds that follow, and he probably should have cast a silencing charm. He rests his forehead against the stall wall as he comes down, after, and he knows he's done for. There's no way he's going to turn them down.

He's standing in the open doorway to Bill's office at three o'clock that afternoon, trying not to fidget. It takes a moment for Bill to notice him.

"Hello," Bill says, setting down his quill. His expression is carefully neutral.

"Hi," Teddy says, and it comes out all squeaky and embarrassing. He clears his throat. "Um," he says.

Bill waits for him to get a hold of himself.

"I was, um. Wondering," Teddy begins. "What you're, um—what you and Fleur are doing this evening."

Bill lowers his eyes a moment, then looks back at Teddy. "Nothing," he says. "We'll just be at home."

"Oh," Teddy says, and he's nodding, for some reason. "I, um—me, too. Um, neither. I'm, uh, I'm not doing anything, either. As well." He clears his throat.

"Aren't you?" Bill says. "Well, if you're looking for company—"

"Might be nice."

"—you're more than welcome to join us."

Teddy swallows. "For dinner?"

"For anything you'd like."

Teddy still isn't quite sure what that is, but he nods and thanks him and goes back to his desk, and can't think about anything but his throbbing dick and churning stomach until he finds himself in front of Shell Cottage three interminable hours later.

"'ello, Teddy," Fleur says with a smile when she opens the door for him.

"Hi," Teddy says, and he couldn't look at her right now if his life depended on it.

They have a light supper that Teddy can't really taste, and Bill and Fleur make light, pleasant conversation that Teddy can't really follow. His cock has been hard for so long today, he's a bit worried that it isn't healthy.

"'ave you 'ad enough to eat, Teddy?" Fleur asks, eventually.

"Yes, thank you." Teddy swallows as she stands and comes over to retrieve his plate, brushing her arm against his as she picks it up. Bill doesn't speak as she goes into the kitchen and returns, and she's not gone long enough for Teddy to catch his breath.

Without a word, she comes to stand behind him, and trails her fingers over his shoulder. Her thumb rubs against the side of his neck, and Teddy casts a terrified glance at Bill, who surely doesn't understand the state of Teddy's cock right now, if he's about to let him point it at his wife.

But Bill just smiles as he sips his Firewhiskey, and nods at Teddy encouragingly.

Teddy swallows as Fleur leans down and presses her lips to the nape of his neck. His heart is barrelling along at top speed as she moves her mouth to the side of his throat, and he unwittingly tilts his head, giving her better access. He grips at the seat of his chair to stop his fingers trembling.

Her hands skate down over his arms, and she mutters something he can't make out. It must have been a weightlessness spell or something, because she pulls his chair away from the table with alarming ease, and Teddy closes his eyes against the embarrassment, because there's no way his erection's a secret anymore.

She steps around to his front, and he feels her hand on his face, her thumb brushing over his cheek. "Relax," she says, in a startlingly close whisper, and then she's kissing him on the mouth.

Teddy can't breathe for a long moment with her lips against his, and then suddenly he's gasping for air and kissing her back, breathing hard against her mouth. It's just a chaste kiss, really, with nothing but lips, but it's so fucking hot that he thinks he may die. Bill is _right there_ , and he's watching them kiss, and—Teddy makes an embarrassing noise when he feels Fleur's tongue slip inside his mouth.

He's so distracted by her tongue that he doesn't really notice her hands opening his trousers until her fingers are inside, slipping around his cock and pulling it out.

She's only just got her fingers wrapped around it properly when the connection between Teddy's brain and his cock short-circuits, and pleasure rips through his body.

He sits there, panting, and he can't open his eyes for the humiliation of it. This isn't the first time someone besides himself has touched his cock; it should have taken a bit longer than _that_.

But at the sound of an appreciative hum from Fleur, he opens his eyes, and she's smiling at him.

"She's good, isn't she?" Bill says. Teddy looks over at him, and he thinks that Fleur's _technique_ wasn't exactly the deciding factor here, but he manages a nod. Then he watches in disbelief so profound it verges on horror as Fleur stands and walks over to Bill.

Bill looks up at her as she takes his drink and sets it on the table. He touches a hand to his pocket, and Teddy's eyes go uncomfortably wide as Bill and Fleur are suddenly naked.

Their skin is starkly white in the soft light, and Teddy's eyes dart over Fleur's bottom and breasts, Bill's chest and—good fucking lord—Bill's cock, standing tall in his lap.

Teddy can't quite look at it, despite his burning desire to study it in detail, so his eyes flit back to Fleur as she steps her legs apart and straddles Bill's thighs. She reaches a hand to his face and rubs her thumb over his cheekbone, just as she did to Teddy, and Bill keeps his eyes open and trained on her face as he leans into her touch.

Then she sits on his lap, and Bill's cock disappears. Bill and Fleur both groan, and Teddy can't move. He stares at them, naked and intertwined and _fucking_ , right there in the dining room.

Bill slides his hands up and down Fleur's back, settling them at her waist as she starts to ride him, raising and lowering herself on his cock. She runs her hands over his neck and chest, and he kisses her throat and her ears and her mouth.

Teddy holds his eyes open too long, and it burns a bit, when he finally blinks. He only realises that he's hard again when Fleur looks over at him and smiles at his cock, which is standing at attention through his open trousers.

"Touch yourself, Teddy," she says, and Teddy nearly chokes.

His eyes dart to Bill, who looks at him and nods. Teddy swallows and somehow summons the muscle control to move his hand. Bill's eyes flare as Teddy wraps his fingers around himself and groans.

Teddy's hand is flying over his cock by the time Fleur starts to rub herself, and when she comes, Teddy can _feel_ it, a wave of pleasure that radiates out through the room, like Veela orgasms are some sort of communal affair.

Teddy groans as it washes over him, his eyes falling shut, and when he opens them again, Bill's watching him. His fingers dig into Fleur's waist as his hips snap up into her, and Teddy can't look away. Bill's gaze is on his face, steady and relentless, until he grunts and comes inside Fleur, his eyes stuttering shut.

Teddy gasps for breath and comes all over his own fist.

+++

  
When he wakes up the next morning, he's pretty sure it was all a dream. He hobbles through Saturday and Sunday in a fog of distraction, and by the time Monday morning rolls around, he's completely convinced himself that it was just a dream. That's the only reason he's able to go to work. He could never look Bill in the eye again, if that had actually _happened_.

"Milk and two sugars," Bill says when he arrives, and sets the coffee down on Teddy's desk.

"Thanks," Teddy says, with a grin. He looks up and meets Bill's eye and, _Oh my fucking God_ , it actually happened _._ It really, really, definitely fucking happened. Teddy can't breathe, but Bill just smiles at him and goes into his office, Teddy staring at the back of his head.

Teddy's nerves burn hot all day, spiking almost painfully every time Bill walks by. Bill, on the other hand, seems perfectly fine. Not worried or distracted or even uncomfortable, for fuck's sake.

Teddy can see him through the open office door, filling out paperwork with a small smile on his face after his two-thirty meeting. Bracing his nerves, Teddy stands and walks into the office, closing the door behind him.

Bill looks at the closed door, and then at Teddy, with a quirked eyebrow. Teddy swallows and averts his gaze to the desk.

"So is this something that you two just... do?" Teddy asks. "Invite someone to come and... while you..."

Bill sits back in his chair. "Not often," he says. "Or with just anyone."

"So you've done it before?"

"Yes."

Teddy frowns. "I don't understand. You and Fleur seem so happy together."

"We are. Very."

"Then why on earth do you need—" He doesn't finish the sentence. "Aren't you enough for each other?"

Bill looks at him. "Of course. We don't _need_ , Teddy. We haven't invited you to join us as some sort of crutch to save our marriage, or distract us from ourselves. Fleur and I just like to share with one another."

Teddy really doesn't understand. "Looked to me like you and I were the ones sharing."

Bill smiles. "That's how it went last night, yes. Other nights may go differently."

Teddy _stares_ at him.

+++

  
He goes back to Shell Cottage. Not immediately, but later that same week. Twice. And again at the weekend. For something that Teddy continues to believe is ridiculous and probably just a figment of his own imagination, he falls into the routine of it very easily.

And they do have a routine, despite Bill's suggestion that things might go differently. Fleur touches Teddy while Bill watches, and then Teddy watches the two of them together.

He's a pretty quick study, if he does say so himself. He lasts significantly longer when Fleur touches him the second time, and by the fourth night he's there with them, he lasts so long that she has time to put her mouth on his cock, which is fucking _brilliant_.

Teddy can feel Bill watching, every time. His eyes are usually on Teddy's face as Fleur goes to work, gauging his reaction, and Teddy wonders what exactly Bill meant by things going differently. Fleur's every move is hot and thrilling and amazing, but he can't help but wonder if Bill will ever do any of it to him. If he'll ever do any of it to Bill.

Bill seems happy just to watch, though, and occasionally give instruction.

It's a Thursday and the ninth time Teddy's been with them, when Bill tells him to fuck Fleur. Teddy very nearly snorts beer out his nose, but Bill isn't kidding. Fleur fancies the idea, too, for reasons Teddy can't even begin to wrap his mind around, and so he does it.

He penetrates a woman for the first time under circumstances beyond his wildest imagination, with Bill's voice sliding encouragingly over his naked body, and while it may seem a bit hyperbolic to say that his life is changed forever, he's pretty sure he'll never look at anything the same way ever again.

+++

  
Teddy's sitting at his desk some number of Wednesdays later, the head of his half-hard cock chafing against the inside of his pants as images from the night before dance in his head.

Bill taught him last night how to make Fleur come with just his mouth. Fleur lay on the bed, and Bill used his fingers to show Teddy exactly what to do and where, and then held her open for him with his index and middle fingers. Teddy wasn't sure which was more exhilarating, the way Fleur writhed underneath him, or the feel of Bill's fingers as Teddy's tongue and lips brushed over them, inadvertently but unavoidably.

Later, Fleur had her mouth on his cock when Bill's large, hot hand found its way to the side of his neck. Teddy's eyes flew open and were met with Bill's intense gaze, and for a heart-stopping moment, Teddy thought he was going to kiss him.

Then Fleur did something amazing with her tongue, and Teddy groaned, twisting his fingers into her hair and leaning his head into Bill's touch. Bill squeezed his neck in response, then started to slide his hands all over Teddy's body, over his chest and stomach and back. His touch was electric, sparking against every inch of his skin, and Teddy came with Bill's fingers skimming over the crack of his arse.

And now he wants more. Teddy's so fucking hard just thinking about it, he can't get his work done. He can still feel Bill's hands on him.

Bill's in his office with a customer, the door closed, and Teddy imagines himself on the other side of it, wanking with Bill's hand on his neck, or even just his voice, egging him on. Teddy's cock throbs, and he winces and wishes it were later in the day. They've never done that at work, never talked about it.

Teddy's just about to scoot off the loo (again) when Bill's office door opens and the customer leaves, so he waits an extra minute. He can see Bill sitting at his desk, and he swallows against how badly he wants to go to him.

Bill's right there—right fucking there—and suddenly Teddy's wondering why he shouldn't just ask for what he wants. Bill and Fleur do it all the time.

With a determination he doesn't recognise, Teddy stands and walks silently into Bill's office. He doesn't quite have the courage to close the door and just start making demands, so he comes to a standstill in front of Bill's desk, and waits to be noticed.

"What's up?" Bill says, glancing up from his paperwork with a smile.

Teddy swallows and pulls his robes aside, exposing the well-fitted trousers he's got on underneath, which do nothing to hide his erection. Bill's bright expression quickly turns to something darker. He stares at Teddy's groin for a moment, then looks back at his face. Teddy can't quite read him, and is suddenly struck with self-doubt.

"Sorry," Teddy says, and he's already backpedalling towards the door, panic bubbling up his throat, because they're at _work_ , for fuck's sake, and Fleur isn't even here, and what the hell was he thinking? "I should've just—I'll just go to the loo."

Teddy whirls around, but the door's already clicked shut, with Teddy still inside.

Teddy freezes, and stares at the door as he hears Bill stand and walk across the room, and then he's standing right in front of him, with only inches between them.

"Would you like me to touch you?" Bill says, his voice low, and Teddy watches his lips move.

"Y-yes," Teddy manages to answer.

Bill presses his hand to Teddy's groin, eliciting an embarrassing whimper, and then Teddy's trousers are open and his cock out faster than Teddy can really process. He can't think, as Bill's long, rough fingers wrap around him and start to pull.

His knees are shaking, and he knows he's not going to last long, so Teddy does his best to breathe and not finish too quickly. He stares at Bill's face, which is even closer than it was a moment ago. His scars stand out in sharp relief at this distance, and the beginning of his evening stubble catches the overhead light.

Bill's mouth twitches up into a small smile as his hand continues to drag up and down Teddy's cock, and Teddy only has a moment to meet his eyes questioningly before Bill suddenly sinks to his knees.

Teddy sputters and balks, because _that_ is not something he was expecting—Bill's lips have never so much as touched him, anywhere, and now they're pressed against the head of his cock, and sliding overtop and under it at the same time, taking it into his mouth, and good fucking _Lord_ —

Afterwards, Teddy doesn't quite remember coming, and he certainly doesn't remember sitting down, so he hopes Bill didn't have to carry him to the chair he's currently slouched in, opposite Bill's desk. Bill is sitting in the matching chair next to him, watching him. Teddy's heart gives a funny beat at the fondness in Bill's gaze, and he has to look away.

"OK?" Bill asks.

Teddy breathes a few times. "Yeah," he says. "Think I'll be fine."

Bill laughs, then falls silent. Teddy thinks he should say something, like how he knows he shouldn't have asked for that, without Fleur here. He swallows, and tries to think of what exactly he should say.

"Hey, before I forget," Bill says, interrupting his thoughts and seemingly not bothered by Fleur's absence, "do you have any interest in staying on here with me, a bit more permanently?"

Teddy blinks and gives him an incredulous look, because that's a remarkably unfair question to ask him, at the moment.

"Right, sorry," Bill says, chuckling. "Not the best time to ask. But you can't be my interim secretary forever, you know. I have to hire someone. Job's yours, if you want it."

Teddy has no idea what to say. He likes working here, for a number of reasons, but he never thought it would be a long-term solution. He tries to imagine himself working at the bank his whole life, and he just can't picture it.

"Think about it," Bill says. "And let me know."

+++

  
Teddy's on his back, and Fleur's on top of him, sliding herself up and down on his cock. He presses his fingers into the flesh at her hips, skates them down to her thighs, and she's fucking _gorgeous_ , ridiculously fucking gorgeous. Teddy pushes his hips up off the mattress, and she smiles at him as Bill's face appears over her shoulder, smiling down at Teddy, too.

"Look at you two," Bill breathes, and Teddy sucks in a shuddering breath. "Fucking gorgeous." He kisses Fleur's shoulder before she turns to kiss his mouth, and Teddy's transfixed.

Fleur moans and suddenly Teddy feels something at the base of his cock, blunt fingertips rubbing and circling and then pushing in alongside him.

"Shit," Teddy says, and it almost sounds like a sneeze, the way it forces itself out. Bill and Fleur break their kiss and look down at him, their expressions dark and pleased, as two of Bill's fingers rub up the side of Teddy's cock, inside Fleur's body. Teddy stares, and he wants to smile back at them, but he can't control the muscles in his face. Bill slides his fingers in and out a couple of times, until they're slick, and pulls them out. Then Teddy can feel them somewhere else, prodding at him through a layer of something warm, and when he realises that Bill is putting them into Fleur's arse, he starts to feel dizzy.

Fleur groans and pushes down against Bill's fingers and Teddy's cock, and Bill hums appreciatively, and Teddy can't do anything but lie there. Then Bill's fingers are gone, and he's bringing his body in close, and although Teddy has some idea of what he's about to do, it's so preposterous that he can't believe it.

But then he does it. Bill presses his cock into Fleur's arse, and good fucking _lord_. Teddy thinks he might die, right here and now, because he can feel Bill's cock lined up with his inside this gorgeous fucking woman, and how the hell could this possibly be real?

Bill slides out and then back in again, slowly, and Teddy can feel the head of his cock as it drags along his own shaft, separated by only a thin, hot piece of flesh. Teddy chokes as Fleur puts her mouth on his neck, and drags her lips over his throat. Teddy closes his eyes and tries to breathe.

When he opens his eyes, Bill has leaned over Fleur's back, and his face is right there over her shoulder, inches from Teddy's own. Teddy stares at him, and tries not to think about how their cocks are all but touching. Bill's eyes are burning as he looks at Teddy, and his tongue darts out to run over his lips.

"Kiss 'im, Teddy," Fleur whispers into his ear. "I want you to kiss 'im."

The last coherent thought Teddy has before slipping into sexual oblivion is that he's never been quite so thankful for his height as he is in that moment, when he leans up and Bill leans down, and their lips meet easily over Fleur's shoulder.

+++

  
"In the woods near the _Burrow_?" Teddy asks, his head pillowed on Fleur's bare thigh. His eyes are trained on Bill, who's naked and stretched out next to them as a spring breeze blows in through the open window, replacing the smell of sex with the smell of the sea. "But Harry told me it was living in the Forbidden Forest. And I've certainly never seen it."

"Yeah," Bill says, chuckling. "That's 'cause the poor thing does a runner as soon as she gets whiff of either Harry or Ron."

Teddy laughs. "So who brought it back?"

Bill shakes his head. "No idea. Think she found her own way."

"She is quite clever, zat car," Fleur says, carding her fingers through Teddy's hair. "Remember when she came to our rescue, during zat 'orrible rainstorm, Bill?"

Bill smiles. "Our second anniversary. My parents insisted on having us over for dinner, when all we wanted was to be alone. We escaped out into the woods for a bit of privacy, and lost track of the time, for some reason or another." Teddy chuckles. "Suddenly it was _pouring_ like mad—honestly, like you've never seen it. I couldn't even tell which direction the house was."

"I zought we were going to drown!"

"But then, there she was," Bill says, fondly.

"Yeah?" Teddy says.

"We climbed into ze backseat," Fleur says, "and continued as though we 'ad not been interrupted."

"You're shitting me."

"Nope," Bill says. "Pretty sure that was the night we made Victoire, too."

"Shut up."

"God's honest truth, mate."

"No, shut the hell up. In the backseat of the very same car that Harry flew into my dad's tree?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Ron at the controls, actually, but yes."

Teddy stares at him, then laughs. "Good god, that's great," he says. "So old Vicky Weasley got started in a Ford." Bill laughs, and Fleur thwaps Teddy on the head.

+++

  
It's nearly seven o'clock on a Thursday night in early May, and Bill and Teddy are both still at the bank. Bill's got an important client meeting in the morning – a long-contested will was finally resolved in court last week, and the prevailing beneficiary is coming in to collect her due – and the paperwork's not quite in order yet.

He doesn't actually need Teddy's help with it, but it's Teddy's fault that he didn't finish it earlier, since he interrupted Bill for non-work-related activities twice today, so Teddy feels he should stay to help.

How much help he's actually being is debatable, as he finds himself straddling Bill's thighs (desk chairs without armrests are _brilliant_ , for the record), grinding against him as Bill's mouth works against his throat.

"Are you gonna fuck me tonight?" Teddy asks, his voice low and breathy. That's the only thing they haven't done yet, and Teddy's been imagining it for weeks.

Bill expels a hot, moist breath. "Do you want me to?" He pulls back far enough to look up at Teddy's face, and his eyes are wild, pupils blown so there's only the slimmest ring of blue around them.

Teddy swallows. "Yes," he says, and he really, really does.

Bill grunts and kisses him, presses their mouths together and pulls Teddy's lower lip between his teeth. "How d'you want it?" he asks, releasing Teddy's lip with a wet snap. "On your back? So you can look me in the eye as I press into you?" Teddy shivers. "Or should I bend you over the back of the sofa and fuck you in the lounge like the naughty little thing you are?"

"That," Teddy says, before he can stop himself. "Like that. Do it like that. Fuck," he says, and kisses Bill again, with more teeth than before.

Bill grunts. "Look at you," he says. "So hot for me. Can you even wait that long? Fuck, I want to bend you over this desk right now."

"Yes," Teddy hisses. "Do it. Do it right here."

Bill groans as Teddy presses his hips down just right, so their erections meet through their trousers. "Can't," he bites out. "Promised Fleur she could watch the—the first time, at least."

"Shit," Teddy says, because, _fuck_. "Let's go. Let's go home _now_ ," and he's never called Shell Cottage 'home', before, but neither of them seem to mind.

"'K," Bill says. "Yeah, OK." Teddy slides off his lap and stands, and Bill doesn't even look at the unfinished paperwork on his desk. "Can you Apparate?" he asks. "Not too worked up?"

"Yeah," Teddy answers. "I'll be fine." They could just Floo, of course, but bank security means that a goblin guards the fireplace at all hours, so slipping out the back door and past the anti-Apparation wards seems like the far less embarrassing option, at the moment.

With a smile, Bill bounds out of his office and down the back staircase, with Teddy hot on his heels. Teddy's heart is hammering in his chest, and he's positively giddy with what they're going to do. He can't wait, not a moment longer than he has to. His eyes are trained on Bill's back as he throws open the door to the back alley, and Teddy follows, but somehow he doesn't notice that Bill's stopped and changed direction, and is coming back into the building until they nearly collide.

Bill pulls the door shut behind him, hard.

"What is it?" Teddy says, and they're both panting.

Bill's eyes are wild, and his cock visibly hard, and Teddy's really fucking confused.

"What? Is there something out there? What's wrong?" He's having a hard time thinking straight, his cock is so hard.

Bill stares at him, blinking and panting. Teddy cranes his neck to try to see through the door's window over Bill's shoulder.

"Bill, what the hell?"

"Sorry," Bill says. "Thought I saw someone."

"So what? We're just going to Apparate. Not like we're gonna fuck in the alley."

"Yeah—'course. Sorry, I—"

"Shut up," Teddy says, laughing, "and get moving!"

Bill grins and pushes the door open again, and they hurry through it. Teddy glances up and down the alley, but doesn't see anyone. "There's no one here," he says, and looks to Bill, trying to understand what spooked him.

He forgets about that, though, when he sees how Bill's looking at him. His eyes are glittering, and his skin stark and glowing in the cool evening light, and Teddy can't breathe.

"Do you know how you look right now?" Bill asks him. "In the moonlight? Fuck."

Teddy licks his lips and concentrates, and hears Bill's breathy chuckle as his hair changes to a metallic silver, which must catch the moonlight rather nicely.

"Oh, you know," Bill says, his smile turning predatory. "You know exactly what you do to me, don't you?"

Teddy just smirks, or tries to anyway, as Bill descends upon him, pushing him back against the heavy door that just shut behind them. Bill kisses him hungrily, possessively, and Teddy's quickly lost in his onslaught. Large, hot hands rake over his body, mussing his clothes, as wet lips and teeth make their way over his jaw, nipping and licking and sucking. Bill presses against Teddy and palms his cock through his trousers. "Gonna fuck you," he mutters. "Gonna fuck you like I've wanted to for so long."

"Yes," Teddy pants. "Please. Don't wanna wait anymore."

"OK," Bill says, and suddenly Teddy's being spun around, fast, and pushed up against the door face first. Bill's hands wrap around Teddy's waist and work his trousers open, as the rest of him presses against Teddy's back, his hard cock grinding against his arse.

Teddy closes his eyes and struggles to breathe, because Bill is really about fuck him, right here in the alley, and it's ridiculously dirty and dangerous and delicious, but it's not exactly what Teddy pictured. "What about Fleur?" he manages to ask. "You said you promised her—"

"She'll forgive me," Bill says, but he drags in a few steadying breaths and skates his fingers over Teddy's sides. "OK?" he asks, and it has to be, as far as Teddy's concerned, because the only thing he really wants right now is Bill's cock inside his arse, and there's no _way_ he's going to be able to collect himself enough to Apparate _now_ , so sex in the alley is just how it's going to have to go.

"Yeah," he says, nodding furiously. "Yeah. Fine by me."

Bill growls and hooks his fingers into the waist of Teddy's trousers and pants, and shoves them down over his arse, exposing his bare bum. Teddy's cock is caught under the elastic of his pants, and by the time he's reached down and freed it, Bill's cast a familiar charm, and slick fingertips have found his arsehole. They press inside, one at a time, and oh _god_ , that's fucking good, but this is old hat for Teddy by now, and they're in a fucking _alley_ , and Bill needs to hurry up.

"More," Teddy grunts. "C'mon, Bill," he says. Bill growls again and shoves two and then three fingers inside. Teddy writhes and winces and wills himself to relax, and soon Bill's pulling his hips back, away from the wall.

"Bend over," he instructs. "Put your hands against the wall." Teddy does, bending at the waist and bracing himself against the door. Bill's hands soothe over his exposed skin, shaking with arousal and adrenaline as Teddy arranges himself. "Are you ready?" Bill asks.

Teddy imagines how he must look, his arse presented like this, and thinks he should probably feel a lot more ridiculous than he does. "Yeah," he says, "I'm ready." He takes a breath and looks at the door in front of him. He focuses on it and tries to relax, breathes in through his nose and studies the diffuse gleam of reflected moonlight against the metal. The window is only a few inches above his hands, and he can see the stretch of alleyway behind them reflected in the thick, reinforced glass. The moon is directly behind them, low in the sky.

Teddy can feel the wet head of Bill's cock rubbing against him, pressing against his hole, and he shouldn't have the presence of mind to think about this right now, but he can't help it.

It hits him like a Bludger or a sucker punch or an angry branch of the Whomping Willow, the tree they planted just for his father—the reason Bill didn't want him to go out into the alley. It's a full moon. Bill hadn't seen anyone outside; he'd just thought, for a moment, that someone else was chasing him down those stairs.

Teddy's heart constricts as the head of Bill's cock shoves its way inside him, and he can't tell which one's more painful. He chokes a breath as Bill slides in further, his fingers gripping at Teddy's hips. Bill stops, and when Teddy's able to breathe again, he can feel Bill's fingers shaking, digging into his flesh, waiting.

Teddy closes his eyes against the moonlight, and has never felt quite so stupid.

"Teddy?" Bill rasps, after a moment.

Teddy doesn't say anything, just swallows and pushes his arse back against Bill's cock. Bill grunts and starts to move. It's slow at first, but it's a fucking full moon, so it's not long before Bill's slamming in and out of his arse, and isn't that exactly what Teddy wanted?

Teddy screws up his face and braces himself and lets Bill push him against the cold metal door and fuck him too hard.

+++

  
It doesn't matter, of course. This was never going to be anything but a bit of fun, a bit of sex, so Teddy doesn't care. Bill and Fleur are already married, for fuck's sake.

Teddy lies in bed for an extra hour the next morning, and he doesn't want to go to work. In the end, though, he figures it'll be easier to avoid talking about it if he just goes about his day as usual, so he gets up and goes in a rush, and he's only half an hour late.

He mostly manages to avoid Bill, since the customer he was preparing for last night ends up taking nearly twice as long as he expected, throwing the entire day's schedule off its rails. Five-thirty arrives relatively quickly, all things considered, and then it's Friday night.

Teddy meets a few his mates at a pub and drinks until he actually doesn't care.

When he stumbles home on Sunday afternoon, there's a note from his grandmother on the kitchen table saying that Fleur Floo'd more than once, looking for him. Teddy doesn't Floo her back, just takes a shower and goes to bed early.

Bill's got an uneasy expression on his face, when Teddy arrives at work on Monday. "Did you have a nice weekend?" he asks, and Teddy nods, but doesn't say anything. "Is everything all right? Fleur said she tried to—"

"Yeah, tell her sorry about that, would you? I was at my mates' all weekend. Didn't get the message until late last night."

"Ah." Bill looks at Teddy a long moment, frowning, then goes into his office.

His retreat doesn't last long, though, and it's only a couple of hours past lunch when he's standing in front of Teddy's desk again, tapping his finger on the edge of it. "Can I see you in my office, please?" he asks.

Teddy swallows and nods. He debates asking for five minutes to run to the loo, but it seems he can't really speak, for some reason, so he just follows Bill into his office instead. Inside, he hovers by the door, unsure if he should close it or not. "If you're more comfortable with it open," Bill says, with a kind of defeat in his voice that claws painfully at Teddy's heart, "that's fine."

Teddy closes the door. They stand in silence, and Teddy stares at the floor. He wonders if there's any chance that Bill just wants to talk about something work-related.

"Did I hurt you?" Bill asks, his voice low and laced with self-loathing.

Teddy frowns and looks at him.

"Sometimes," Bill says, "at the full moon, I get a little—"

"No," Teddy says. "You didn't—no. I'm fine."

Bill looks at him and sighs. "You left so quickly. And then you didn't return Fleur's Floo calls, and you've been avoiding me all day, so I just—" He pauses. "It's difficult to control myself, sometimes, and I often can't really remember—"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Teddy says. "Really."

Bill looks relieved, but he's still frowning. "Then what's wrong, Teddy? If I did or said something, please—"

"You were confused, weren't you?" Teddy answers, before he can stop himself. "About who I was." Bill is startled silent, and he looks at Teddy in confusion for a long moment. "You tried to stop me going outside," he continues, "because of the full moon."

"Oh, Teddy," Bill says, as understanding settles onto his face, and Teddy would have preferred he continue to play ignorant.

"You and my father?" Teddy says, sounding a lot more upset than he'd like. "You were… lovers?"

Bill closes his mouth and seems to consider what he should say for a long moment. "Yes," he finally says. "For a brief time. But, Teddy, that's not—"

"Before or after he and my mother were married?"

Bill pauses, and the look on his face is all the answer Teddy needs.

"Oh, for _fuck's_ sake," Teddy says. "Everyone talks about him like his was this fucking _saint_ , but what the hell did he _ever_ do for her? Besides be old enough to be her father, and be a werewolf, and—oh yeah—apparently _cheat_ on her?"

"He wasn't—he didn't cheat on her. It was more complicated than that. But, please believe me, he made her happy, Teddy. She loved him."

Teddy snorts. "I'm not a _child_ , Bill. You don't have to try to sell me some fucking fairytale."

"Fairytale? Nothing about their lives was a fairytale, Teddy. Nothing. But at the end they had each other, and that made them both very happy. At least for what little time they had."

"Yeah, except she wasn't enough for him, was she? If he was fucking coming to _you_."

"I—shit." Bill expels a hard breath and rubs at the bridge of his nose. "OK. You're right. You deserve the truth." He sighs again, collecting his thoughts, and Teddy feels his stomach twist. "You already know that your parents and Fleur and I came to be good friends in the months after I was attacked by Greyback. Your father liked to keep an eye on me, in case the attack proved more harmful than we thought. Fleur and Tonks become quite close – they were two young women, both about to be married at a time when there was so little optimism, it was only natural for them to be drawn together." He sighs, and looks at Teddy's pleadingly. "It was _fun_ , you know? To get together and forget, for an evening, that we weren't typical newlyweds. That there was anything in our future besides just _that_ —our new families. "

Teddy sags against the wall. "It was both of them, wasn't it?" he says. "Like you and Fleur do."

Bill nods.

"All four of you at once?"

Bill ducks his head sheepishly. "Yes," he says. "Always. Your father wouldn't, without her." A small smile creeps onto Bill's face. "Even when she was outrageously pregnant with you, and could barely move, she was always there. She liked to watch. She also liked my wife, but who doesn't?"

Bill gives a small chuckle and looks back up at Teddy, who's just staring at him, his eyes wide. "Sorry, did I cross a line there?" Bill asks.

Teddy's jaw flaps a bit, but nothing comes out.

Bill watches him, and turns serious again. "But, Teddy, please believe me when I say that our relationship with your parents is _not_ the reason Fleur and I sought you out—"

"It's fine," Teddy says, shrugging. "Doesn't matter."

"Teddy—"

"No, really. What difference does it make? We were only after a bit of fun, and we all got what we wanted. It didn’t _mean_ anything." Teddy swallows.

"It does make a difference," Bill says firmly, after a few moments. "I won't insult you by denying what happened, or—or what it implies about where my mind was at that particular moment, but Teddy, please understand. The full moon is—" He pauses. "I don't always have all my wits about me."

 _Isn't that when the truth usually comes out?_ Teddy doesn't ask, because he doesn't want to hear it. It's not like it matters, it's not like he cares. So he nods. "I do understand," he says. "And it's fine."

An unnecessarily tense moment passes. "I probably should have told you sooner," Bill says. "And I understand if you're angry—"

"Oh my God, Bill, really. Stop. It's _fine_."

"Right, OK. Right. Sorry."

The question hangs between them, plain as day. _We all got what we wanted_ , Teddy said, using the past tense. He knows Bill wants to ask, wants to gauge how much this really doesn't matter to him, but Teddy doesn't feel like making it any easier for him.

Eventually, Bill sighs. He turns to his desk, and shuffles some papers. "Have you made a decision about keeping with this job or not?" he asks.

Teddy looks at his back. "Not yet."

Bill nods. "They won't let me keep you on the payroll much longer, without a contract. I'm afraid I need a decision by the end of the week."

"OK," Teddy says, and he returns to his desk.

+++

  
Teddy waits until the end of the day on Friday to give Bill his decision. Bill doesn't seem surprised, and if he's disappointed, he hides it well.

"Thank you for letting me know," he says. "D'you mind staying on for the two weeks it'll take for us to find someone?"

Teddy says he doesn't mind, and he stays. A fortnight later, he's finished training his replacement, Amelia, and he's walking down Diagon Alley, unsure of what to do next.

The weather's getting warmer, so he settles on an ice cream, and that's the next twenty minutes of his life, sorted. He enjoys his sundae and watches Sabine Fortescue run around her shop frantically. She's not got any help, it seems, so as he's leaving, Teddy grabs a few dirty napkins from the other tables and chucks them in the bin.

Sabine smiles at him gratefully. "My only employee just quit," she says. "Dunno why he couldn't do it on a _cold_ day. Say, you don't need a job, do you?"

It's just another stopgap, of course. Something to hold him over until he finds something permanent, something a bit more grownup. It's fun, though, working at an ice cream shop, and refreshingly simple.

Summer rolls around before he knows it, and he hasn't seen Bill and Fleur in weeks. He hasn't seen anyone, really – even Harry's been giving him space – so it's a bit of shock to his system when he's fishing around under the counter for more napkins and he looks up at the sound of a small, attention-getting cough.

His cock springs to life at the sight of her, seventeen and tall and blonde and one-eighth Veela, with a smile just like her father's.

"Teddy Lupin," Victoire says. "I didn't know you were working here."

Teddy smiles back, and hopes his hair stays the respectable dark blue he chose this morning. "Vicky," he says. "Didn't know you were home already."

"Only have been for a few days. You never did come to visit this term."

"Sorry," he says. "Got busy."

"Not surprising. Working for my father will do that."

Teddy nods and stacks the napkins on the counter. "So, what brings you to Diagon Alley today? Shopping?"

"No," she says. "I told my father I was thinking of getting a job for the summer, and now he's got this position lined up for me at the bank, that I'm pretty sure he just invented. Greeting customers at the door, can you believe it? Completely humiliating."

Teddy just smirks. "Have fun with that," he says.

"I don't suppose you need any extra help here, do you? Gonna be a busy summer?"

"Serving ice cream's less humiliating than greeting the bank customers, is it?"

Victoire shrugs. "Maybe not, but the company'd be a hell of a lot better." She smiles her father's smile, and Teddy's stomach gives a dizzying flip.

He puts in a good word in for her with Sabine, and they've only been working together for two weeks when Teddy manages to get himself locked in the great big freezer in the back room and Victoire comes to his rescue and he kisses her for the first time, next to a sweet-smelling vat of vanilla ice cream.

+++

  
August the thirty-first is a sunny, pleasant day, much to Teddy's relief. If it had been raining, and they'd all been trapped inside, he wouldn't have been able to stand it. Probably wouldn’t even have come, which would have raised a fair few eyebrows and even more questions.

So he's glad that it's sunny, and that there's a gentle breeze blowing, as he sits at the far end of the long table in the Burrow's garden, watching Al Potter's and Rose Weasley's eyes get bigger and bigger as Al's brother, James, and their cousins, Freddie and Louis, take turns winding them up with increasingly fantastic and horrible tales of life at Hogwarts. James looks over and sees Teddy watching them, and grins mischievously. Teddy smiles back and gives him a small salute, and tries not to wish that he were getting on that train tomorrow, too.

"What are you doing, sitting over here all alone?" Teddy turns to see that Victoire's come up behind him.

"Nothing," he answers, shrugging. "Nice to have a bit of distance, sometimes."

Victoire sits down next him. "Uncle Harry giving you a hard time again?"

"Actually, no," Teddy says. "He still seems oddly taken with the whole working at Fortescue's thing. Think he might be a bit jealous, to be honest."

"Enjoy that while it lasts," Victoire says with a chuckle. Then, after a moment, "I want you to come tomorrow. See me off at King's Cross."

Teddy looks at her. "Really? Don't you think that'll... clue everyone in?" They've kept their relationship a secret, mostly at Teddy's insistence, on the grounds that they'd never hear the end of it.

"I think they already know, really," she says. "The grownups, anyway." Teddy frowns with alarm. "I sort of confessed to Aunt Ginny," Victoire continues, cringing apologetically. "I haven't told my parents, but I think they've known for ages."

"Have they?" Teddy says, the back of his neck going all prickly. He's seen Bill and Fleur a few times this summer, and even been back to Shell Cottage once, but only ever with all three of their children present. The four of them – Bill, Fleur, Teddy and Victoire – have been playing a careful game of make-believe, in which nothing ever happened, and they're all the same people in all the same relationships that they were at Christmas.

"You don't need to worry so much," she says. "They love you. I reckon they're actually rather pleased about it."

Teddy raises his eyebrows and lets Victoire press her fingers to the back of his hand.

"Will you come?" she asks.

"Sure," he says. "Yeah." She smiles at him, and Teddy wonders if he'll ever just see _her_ , when she does that.

+++

  
The sun is fast approaching the horizon, and Teddy's still at the same table in the garden, only now he's alone and stretched out on top of it, ankles crossed and hands behind his head, watching everything turn a hazy red-gold. He can sense Bill approaching before he sees him.

Teddy takes a breath and wills his hair to hold steady as he turns to look at him. The sunset makes Bill's hair redder than ever, turning all the grey in it to gold. Teddy swallows and sits up, bringing his feet to rest on the chair he was sitting on earlier.

Bill stops a few feet short of the table, and looks at Teddy. Silence stretches between them, and Teddy's afraid to break it, so he just studies the way Bill's fingers wrap around his near-empty beer bottle.

"There's an opening at the bank," Bill says, without preamble.

Teddy looks at him.

"Not in my department," he says. "It's in Investments. Dunno if you remember, but that's on the far side of the building. Not working with me at all."

Teddy doesn't say anything.

"It's a bit more permanent, though, and could lead to other opportunities. I'd be happy to recommend you."

Teddy nods. "Thank you. I'll think about it," he says, and maybe he actually will.

Bill doesn't say anything else. Teddy stares at him, and feels like there's something he wants to say, but he honestly doesn't know what it is.

"Bill!" someone calls. Teddy and Bill both look towards the house, where Fleur is standing, just outside the kitchen door. Teddy looks at her, and feels nothing. He's spoken with her a couple of times today, and it's been just like that – the pull he's always felt towards her is gone. It's like she's just switched it off, like she doesn't want him to be attracted to her anymore, so he isn't. He wonders if she can do that.

She doesn't approach them. "'ave you forgotten to mend Dominique's broom, like she asked?" she calls to Bill.

"Shit," Bill mutters, and Teddy smirks.

"She needs it by ze morning!"

"Yeah, OK," Bill calls back, raising a hand in mock surrender. "I'll be right there." Fleur nods and looks at them a moment, then disappears back into the house.

Bill turns to Teddy purposefully, as if to say something, but all he offers is a regretful smile.

"Well," Bill says, after a moment. "See you later."

"Yeah," Teddy says, and watches him walk away.


End file.
